christopher price

Figuring Out The Final 53

FOXBOROUGH -- This week marks the halfway point of the six-week stretch between the start of training camp and the first regular-season game. Based on what we’ve seen so far, here’s my take on how the Patriots’ 53-man roster will look come Opening Night against the Bills.

Quarterback: Tom Brady, Kevin O’Connell, Andrew Walter
An easy group to figure out -- the only real drama here is to try and figure out who is the No. 2 quarterback. O’Connell began camp as the backup to Brady, but an underwhelming performance in the first two preseason games means Walter could still make a play for the No. 2 job with a sharp performance in one of the two final preseason games.

Running back: Laurence Maroney, Fred Taylor, Sammy Morris, Kevin Faulk
No surprises here -- the odd man out is Green-Ellis. (Through no fault of his own -- it’s just a numbers game. That fumble Thursday certainly didn’t help matters, though.) However, if one of the veterans goes down, Green-Ellis is the first guy Belichick calls -- he has a year in the system, and has run hard and with a purpose whenever he’s gotten a chance.

Wide receiver: Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Joey Galloway, Greg Lewis, Julian Edelman, Sam Aiken
At this point, no one has distinguished himself in the race for the No. 3 receiver job, so we’ll include both Galloway and Lewis on this list with the understanding that one of them could be out the door come Sept. 14 if someone seizes control of the position. Edelman has legitimately played his way onto the roster regardless, while Aiken’s special teams duties and dependability in the passing game get him a spot on the final 53-man roster.

Tight end: Benjamin Watson, Chris Baker, Alex Smith, Dave Thomas
Watson remains a mystery. He practiced Monday for the first time in ages, and if he’s able to stay on the field the next few days, he’ll likely see his first action of the preseason Friday against Washington. But is it too late to do any good? There’s no reason to think Watson will be able to supplant Baker at this point, but has he done enough to ensure he’ll have a job come Sept. 14? I go back and forth on Watson -- after flipping a coin, I’ll say he makes the team. But I still wouldn’t be surprised if he was cut between now and the start of the season.

Defensive line: Richard Seymour, Ty Warren, Vince Wilfork, Jarvis Green, Mike Wright, Ron Brace, Myron Pryor, Derrick Burgess, Tully Banta-Cain
This year will be the final go-round in New England for at least one of the Seymour-Wilfork-Green combo. If healthy, Wright is a solid backup who has some positional versatility and a background on special teams, which should be enough to get him through. Brace and Pryor are two rookies who have really impressed, while Burgess and Banta-Cain appear to be locks as defensive end/outside linebacker hybrids in the 4-3 under and over packages the Patriots have displayed in the first two preseason games. New England remains in play for veteran free agents Kevin Carter and Vonnie Holliday, and a trade would certainly shake up the way things look at this position.

Cornerback: Leigh Bodden, Shawn Springs, Jonathan Wilhite, Terrence Wheatley, Darius Butler
No real surprises here. Bodden has played himself into a starting role, while Wilhite -- if healthy -- can legitimately make the same claim at the other corner position. Butler is a talented young rookie who has done enough to at least assure himself of inclusion on the final roster. It could come down to a Springs-Wheatley battle for the final spot, but neither has played well through the first two games of the preseason. In this context, its also worth mentioning that the Patriots are heavily invested in Springs -- New England will be forced to swallow a nearly $3 million cap hit if he’s cut.

Safety: James Sanders, Brandon Meriweather, Pat Chung, Brandon McGowan, Matthew Slater
The first three are easy -- Sanders and Meriweather are starters, while Chung has shown a real intensity in his first training camp with the Patriots. If forced to choose between McGowan and Slater, the latter would get the edge because of his special teams experience as well as the fact that he already has a year in the system.

Special teamers: Stephen Gostkowski, Chris Hanson, Jake Ingram
Gostkowski and Hanson are no-brainers -- neither have faced any serious competition in camp -- while Ingram and Nathan Hodel have waged a battle to replace Lonie Paxton at long snapper. Ingram has delivered clean and quick snaps over the course of the preseason. All things being equal, the younger and healthier Ingram seems to be the right choice.

The rest
Wide receiver/kick returner Terrence Nunn, quarterback Brian Hoyer, defensive lineman Darryl Richard and offensive lineman George Bussey are all likely bound for the practice squad, while it appears offensive tackle Mark LeVoir and wide receiver Brandon Tate will start the season on the PUP list. Linebacker Tyrone McKenzie -- who was injured during rookie minicamp -- remains on the roster but unsigned.

Greg and Chris talk with Mike Reiss from ESPN Boston in hour 2 of NFL Sunday to discuss a variety of offseason happenings with the Pats and throughout the league. Greg and Chris also get into the NFL Draft and where Mariota and Winston will go.

Mike Reiss calls the guys to talk about the offseason news for the Pats. He talks about the Pats/Jets tampoering fiasco, free agency, where he sees Ridley and Connolly ending up, if the Patriots would be interested in Reggie Wayne and more.

In the first hour of the show, Greg and Chris discuss the news coming out of the owners' meetings this week and rule changes. Belichick's blow-up over the league not wanting to spend on endzone cameras was well documented and the guys react. They also talk about the Jets ridiculous tampering charges, free agents still lingering out there, where Stevan Ridley will land and the RB position in New England. Dickerson and Price briefly discuss the adventures of Tom Brady before being joined by WEEI.com's Mike Petraglia to talk all things Pats in the offseason.

Flannery joins Mut to break down the Isaiah Thomas trade to Boston and what it means for the Celtics this season and in the future. Paul also chats with Mut about the other deals that happened at the NBA's trading deadline

Mut, Tomase, and Bradford kick things off talking about Shane Victorino taking offense to people reading into some comments he made about trading for Cole Hamels. They also discuss Blake Swihart and how soon he could be up if Christian Vazquez starts the season on the DL.

Joe Kelly joined the Hot Stove show where he talked about being ready for his next spring training start after a biceps ailment forced him out of his last outing, he talks about his NCAA brackets and how teammate Wade Miley has a perfect bracket still.

Peter Chiarelli joined the Sunday Skate crew to talk about the Bruins playoff push heading into the final handful of games of the regular season. Chiarelli talked about avoiding some of the overly negative feedback he gets while realizing that the team does have real issues. He discusses what went down at the trade deadline and if he was happy with the outcome, Lucic having a down year and underperforming, the salary cap and if he considers it as big of an issue as it's been made out to be and what the future holds for the team.

It's a big hour #2 for the Sunday Skate dudes - they talk about the B's defenseman and what the future looks like at that position, with both moves the team can make and younger guys in the AHL. They also get into the Bruins philosophy on bringing guys up and sending them back down and how players deal with that. Finally, the boys are joined by Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli to discuss EVERYTHING.

The Sunday Skate crew gets the show going discussing the Bruins big, impressive victory over the NY Rangers yesterday. What can you take from that game? According to LB - Lyndon Byers - who called the guys from the road, not a lot. LB drops a dime on what was going on with the Rangers yesterday. DJ and Joe discuss Claude's lines and groupings and the importance of Ryan Spooner. They also get into Lucic, his contributions this year and if he can turn things around.

With the Wells report seemingly wrapping up (we hope), Tim and Lou got to talking about possible fines and punishments the Patriots must face. It's possible that the Patriots will face a small fine, but should they take that laying down? The conversation brings out a little passion from BOTH sides.